Front left knocking noise when turning slowly...

Trotter

Have you seen Basil Faulty beating the crap out of his mini with a big branch of a tree??? Im nearly at that stage!

My otherwise very reliable Fiat Punto (98), has a knocking noise in the steering anytime I slowly turn the wheel left when the car is moving. Ive sent it into the mechanic and he said its all looking good, but yet the knocking is still there. (I doubt he brought it for a drive, and if he did, ya cant hear it when you're driving quickly).

It needs a new front left tyre, and the allignment needs sorting out also, but I dont know if this is gonna make a difference.

Its just one of those really annoying little things that reminds you that your car isnt working right!

Has anyone got any ideas? Im thinking of bringing it to another mechanic after the allignment is done in the local tyre place, but Im not in the mood to be handing 50 quid to each mechanic that cant find the problem.

paconnors

Trotter wrote:

Have you seen Basil Faulty beating the crap out of his mini with a big branch of a tree??? Im nearly at that stage!

My otherwise very reliable Fiat Punto (98), has a knocking noise in the steering anytime I slowly turn the wheel left when the car is moving. Ive sent it into the mechanic and he said its all looking good, but yet the knocking is still there. (I doubt he brought it for a drive, and if he did, ya cant hear it when you're driving quickly).

It needs a new front left tyre, and the allignment needs sorting out also, but I dont know if this is gonna make a difference.

Its just one of those really annoying little things that reminds you that your car isnt working right!

Has anyone got any ideas? Im thinking of bringing it to another mechanic after the allignment is done in the local tyre place, but Im not in the mood to be handing 50 quid to each mechanic that cant find the problem.

Sounds like the cv joint need replacin

dahamsta

Yup. Take it to another mechanic, that guy sounds like a waste of space.

adam

mike65

God if a mechanic can't spot a worn CV then he should hang up his rag. Did this knock start out mild enough before turning into a nasty cracking sound?

Is it worse when on full lock?

Mike.

Trotter

mike65 wrote:

God if a mechanic can't spot a worn CV then he should hang up his rag. Did this knock start out mild enough before turning into a nasty cracking sound?

Is it worse when on full lock?

Mike.

Its actually so quiet when Im driving over 20mph that ya cant hear it, so its made a liar out of me when I brought my Dad for a spin. Its still pretty quiet but annoying when ya pull out of car park spaces, or driving through my estate etc.

Its not any worse on full lock , its at its worst when Im driving slowly and turning the wheel to the right. I can barely feel the vibration in the steering wheel too. Going over bumps or ramps, I can hear a weird noise in the suspension (I presume its the suspension anyway).

The noise isnt bad, YET, thats why Im trying to sort it out asap. Mike, I think you might know of the mechanic, Im in Waterford so Id say you do.

I'll PM you for a recommendation. Thanks!

AMurphy

CV joint I'd say, easy to verify for a "real" mechanic. However, JIC and just for fun, Check the nuts on your wheel for tightness.
Also check for anything loose rattling about inside the hub cap.
And check the rubber CV boots for tears and leaking grease.

The wierd noise on bumps, when taken straight on may and possibly due to a bad strut bearing, work top busing on the damper, (check for leaking oil from the item inside the spring) or just worn suspension bushings, lower down.

However, depending on how worn etc. A CV joint will (generally) clack when turned in any direction, not just to the right or left and also make noise in reverse. So whatever speed it makes noise , check in For and Rev and turning L & R, at the same speed.
Inner CV joints when combined with worn engine mounts clack in one direction only.

AlanD

it could also be drive shaft bearings.....especially if it knocks when you turn at low speeds. The cv joint may not knock in situations like that, but may do so it's not ruled out.

If you can check under the car, have a look at the rubber boots that cover the outer end of the drive shaft. It should be clean, relatively, and not covered in thick grease. Check it for holes. It could have burst and the bearings could have dried up, causing trouble. If you can check the inside one too, but you may need a lift to look at it.

Last check you can do, is when the car is stationary and switched off, go to the rogue wheel and grab it at 3 and 9 o'clock. Rock it left to right. Listen carefully for a knocking sound. Then grab it with both hands at 12 o'clock (or even better put it up on a jack and allow the wheel to hang and then grab it at 12 and 6 o'clock) and rock it. Listen for a knocking sound. Depending on which rocking motion made the sound will determine what's worn out. But then that fixes nothing, so get down to the garage. Any mechanic worth his salt will spot this problem instantly.

el tel

Perhaps your front left knocker is loose?
If is it more of a 'thunk' than a 'knock' it's
probably the front left thunker instead.

Trotter

el tel wrote:

Perhaps your front left knocker is loose?
If is it more of a 'thunk' than a 'knock' it's
probably the front left thunker instead.

You're one of those useful people arent you.

daveg

It's a CV joint. Went on my Audi a few months back. Not that expensive a job.

Trotter

Thanks for all the suggestions, what exactly is a CV joint?

PhoenixRising

Trotter wrote:

Thanks for all the suggestions, what exactly is a CV joint?

CV Joint = Constant Velocity Joint. Basically allows a car to turn with the outer wheel turning on a larger radius turning circle.

AMurphy

AlanD wrote:

it could also be drive shaft bearings.....especially if it knocks when you turn at low speeds. The cv joint may not knock in situations like that, but may do so it's not ruled out.

......

Last check you can do, is when the car is stationary and switched off, go to the rogue wheel and grab it at 3 and 9 o'clock. Rock it left to right. Listen carefully for a knocking sound. Then grab it with both hands at 12 o'clock (or even better put it up on a jack and allow the wheel to hang and then grab it at 12 and 6 o'clock) and rock it. Listen for a knocking sound. ....QUOTE]

good suggestion. might be best to do that with the wheel off the ground. in the 9-3 test, do not confuse the steering rocking with the wheel in the bearing rocking.

also check for anything slapping off the body, I once had a "knock" and found it to be something (think it was the tail of a squirrl) wrapped about the drive shaft slapping the bottom of the car.
Wheel bearing will "clack" when worn, but you'd hear them all the time, not just when turning. But a bearing that has not got to that stage, but loose enough to allow something like the brake disk to drift off a little and hit a high spot on the periphery may give a "knock".

keep looking.

Rovi

Erm.......................... not to be pedantic, but....

PhoenixRising wrote:

CV Joint = Constant Velocity Joint. Basically allows a car to turn with the outer wheel turning on a larger radius turning circle.

<pedant mode on>
That would be a differential.

A CV joint causes a driven wheel to rotate at a 'Constant' speed, no matter the angle (within reason!) between the wheel and it's drive shaft.

Conventional Hardy-Spicer or Cardan joints (the ordinary universal, or 'cross' type) actually speed up and down the driven wheel as they rotate when an angle is introduced between the wheel and drive shaft. This gets worse as the angle increases, and eventually it will lock up and/or fail.

Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_velocity_joint and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardan_joint for more info.



.

Dark_Knight

i had a punto your prob is drive shaft bearings get it checked as soon as in goes your car will not move an inch

AMurphy

Dark_Knight wrote:

i had a punto your prob is drive shaft bearings get it checked as soon as in goes your car will not move an inch

Do you mean the wheel hub bearing or an inboard-half (split-long) shaft bearing.

Come to think of it, the ol 128 I had used to chew up wheel hub bearings on a regular basis also. I even made my own tools for changing them.
OTOH, I drove a VW Rabbit (Golf) for about a year with growling bearings for 6~12 months with no ill effects, other than being deafened.